The Stories of Parents of Children with Mental Disabilities: "Triumphal" Versus "absurd" Narratives
The aim of this paper is to improve pastoral theological insights by examining the stories of parents of children with mental disabilities, how their intimate experiences as parents of children with disabilities raise important pastoral theological questions. To this end, I have conducted ethnograph...
| Published in: | Journal of pastoral theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of pastoral theology
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| IxTheo Classification: | KBQ North America NCB Personal ethics RG Pastoral care |
| Further subjects: | B
Disability
B Parents of children with disabilities B Pastoral Care B Narrative B Pastoral Theology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | The aim of this paper is to improve pastoral theological insights by examining the stories of parents of children with mental disabilities, how their intimate experiences as parents of children with disabilities raise important pastoral theological questions. To this end, I have conducted ethnographic research, interviewing eight parents in Claremont, California, who have children with mental disabilities, in order to learn about the phenomenological reality of the narratives and experiences of parents themselves rather than parents speaking on behalf of their children. My main point is that parents create narratives that reflect their experience with their children and their understanding of children's mental disabilities. I provisionally classified parents' stories into two distinct categories based on their storyline and called them either triumphal or absurd narratives. My reason for using these terms is not to conclude that some lives are triumphant and others are absurd. The words point out the theatrical distinctions found among varying rationales for expectations about outcomes to life situations. In this regard, this paper attempts to demonstrate a phenomenological reality that is socially constructed and is one of many possible representations of social worlds. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-4504 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of pastoral theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/10649867.2017.1361699 |